Latest / Hospitality News Briefing / Wednesday 28 October: Hospitality faces 'affordability ceiling' as Budget wage and duty hikes loom
Transcript
- Good morning. This is the Hospitality News Briefing, from Ops Club. Episode twenty nine, Wednesday the twenty eighth of October. Here is what the UK trade press reported this morning, collated for operators. The hospitality sector is facing an affordability ceiling as operators warn that upcoming hikes to wages and alcohol duty are becoming unsustainable. We start with results and trading updates before moving on to investment, a busy list of openings, and the latest market data before finishing with things to think about. First, the numbers and financial results. The Caterer reports that profits at Coppa Collective are set to double as their efficiency drive pays off. The group behind Coppa Club and Noci expects record adjusted ee bit dah of two point eight million pounds for the year to September. That is up from one point four million. Revenue climbed eight per cent to fifty six point four million pounds. The results show that tightening labour productivity and managing costs can still deliver growth despite flat like for like sales. Two quick ones from Propel. Caffe Concerto marked thirty years with two per cent sales growth and steady profits for the year ending August. Future expansion will focus entirely on the UK. Elsewhere, the McDonald's franchisee Ex Amino Foods saw turnover rise to forty three point seven million pounds. The eight-site business moved into the black with a two hundred thousand pound operating profit after opening a new drive-thru in Rotherham. Next, deals and investment. The Morning Advertiser reports that Amber Taverns is now targeting four hundred sites as it ramps up its expansion in the south. Also in investment, Propel reports that Caffe Concerto has committed thirty million pounds to a second London hotel. Construction has started on a seventy five room property in Marylebone. Meanwhile, Langton Capital notes that Fortress is exploring a sale of the Curzon Cinema chain. On to openings and closures. Propel has a busy run of openings this morning. Pizza Pilgrims is making its international debut in Munich next week with more sites in negotiation. The FAB Group has signed deals to expand the Kricket and Hide concepts across the Middle East. Alley Cats Pizza has secured its fifth site in Battersea, taking over the former Soif unit. Gails has taken a former Starbucks unit at the Southbank and opened at Lakeside. Individual Restaurants is bringing the Forbici pizza brand to London and Kent. Also, Big Easy has confirmed it'll launch in Manchester in spring twenty twenty seven. Toklas Bakery is taking over the former Bread Ahead unit in Chelsea, and Juices four Life has opened its fifteenth site in Birmingham. Hospitality and Catering News reports that The Social Hub has submitted plans for a two hundred million pound hybrid hotel and student scheme in Edinburgh. In closures, The Caterer reports that Cafe Spice Namaste has shut to allow staff to prepare for a new project by owner Cyrus Todiwala. Next, people moves. Restaurant Online reports that Michelin-starred chef Michael Smith has been named culinary director at Perle Hotels. Also from Propel, Itsu has appointed Kinga Buda as procurement and supply chain director. Finally, Rudys has named Sharon Singh as operations director as Neal Bates moves into a growth and development role. On to trends and market data. Propel reports that consumers have hit an affordability ceiling as spending growth stalls. Average spend per head has jumped twenty eight per cent since twenty twenty to twenty eight pounds and six pence, but growth slowed to just two per cent this year. In London, spending has plateaued at thirty pounds and eight pence. This means the ability to pass on cost increases through pricing has likely vanished just as new tax pressures arrive. Restaurant Online highlights that the last Saturday in January has emerged as a top-three trading day. Transactions were sixty one per cent above the daily average, beating most of the Christmas rush. This suggests the post-Christmas slump is shortening, which might justify keeping festive staffing levels through the end of the month. Propel notes that artisan bakery visits are now a weekly habit for a third of adults. Separately, Langton Capital reports that retail sales volumes are falling at their slowest rate since April twenty twenty five. Finally, other industry news. The Morning Advertiser reports the National Living Wage is set to rise by about four per cent to thirteen pounds and twenty pence in April. The eighteen to twenty year old rate will also rise to eleven pounds and twenty seven pence. Trade bodies warn this wage hike and potential National Insurance changes will hurt job creation and requires urgent V A T relief to offset. The Chancellor is also expected to increase alcohol duty by about four per cent, as reported by The Morning Advertiser. This could add two pence to the cost of a pint. The B B P A warns UK brewers already pay twelve times more duty than those in Germany, further narrowing the price gap between pubs and supermarkets. Operators are being urged to start planning for Martyns Law, which is expected to be enforceable by spring twenty twenty seven. The Morning Advertiser warns that venues with capacities over two hundred will need formal evacuation plans. Staff must be included in these counts, which could push smaller sites into the regulated tier. The Caterer reports that Andy Burnham is determined to push through a tourist tax for England by twenty twenty eight. Finally, Hospitality and Catering News notes that Social Pantry has achieved a seventy five per cent drop in direct emissions using A I to monitor food waste. A few things to think about before you get on with the day. The National Living Wage is heading toward thirteen pounds and twenty pence. Have you modelled the impact on your middle-management pay gaps to prevent wage compression demotivating your seniors? Market data suggests consumer spending has hit a ceiling. Can you justify any further price increases, or is your only path to profit now through radical cost-cutting and efficiency? The last Saturday in January has emerged as one of the busiest trading days of the year. Are you planning to wind down your festive menus on New Year's Eve, or could you capture that surprise payday spike by extending them? Martyns Law will soon require formal evacuation procedures for venues holding over two hundred people. Do you know your exact maximum capacity including staff and standing room? If it's over two hundred, do you need to start drafting those procedures this month? The full rundown is at ops dash club dot com, where every story links back to the publication that reported it. Today's pulled from The Caterer, Propel, The Morning Advertiser, Langton Capital, Hospitality and Catering News and Restaurant Online - a signpost to their reporting, not a replacement for it. Scripted and read by AI and published without a human check, so check the original before you act on anything. For longer conversations with the people running the sector, find the Hospitality Ops Club podcast. That is your briefing. Have a great day.